Cotton-picking machine.



- PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905. W. B. EDRINGTON.

COTTON PIGKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APB.11, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905.

W. B. EDRINGTON. COTTON PIGKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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No. 803,572. PATENTED NOV. 7, 1905. W. B. BDRINGTON.

COTTON PICKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 11, 1905-.

3 SHBETSSHEET 3' g vwewtoz I Q/Vilmmou I l3 WILLIAM B. EDRINGTON, OFMEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

COTTON-PICKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. '7, 1905.

Application filed April 11, 1905. Serial No. 255,021.

To all. 1071 0717, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM B. EDRINGTON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State ofTennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in CottonPicking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cotton-picking machines; and it has for itsobject to provide a machine of this type by which a maximum amount ofcotton may be picked in a minimum period of time.

Another object is to provide a machine which will not injure the fiberof the cotton.

Other and further objects will appear in the following description andwill be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 isa top view with the receptacle removed. Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4 isa sectional view of the picker. Fig. 5 is a side view of the picker.Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the picker-disks. Fig. 7 is a detailView of the connection between the lateral shafts and the flexibleshafts. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of another embodiment of my picker.Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the hinged bottom of the receptacle.

Referring more particularly to the draw ings, 1 indicates avehicle-platform supported by wheels 2 on cranked axles 3, which areadapted to straddle a row of cotton, the wheels traveling between therows. The vehicle is preferably drawn by horses for the reason that theyprovide the best means for securing a slow intermittent advance.

Supported by standards 4 in an elevated position upon the platform is aperforated cotton-receptacle 5, having the bottom 6 hinged at 7 on oneside, so that the receptacle may be emptied, the bottom when loweredforming a chute to direct the material into a receptacle or vehiclelocated on the side of the cotton-picking machine. Guards 8 at each endof the bottom serve to prevent the cotton falling out from the ends whenthe bottom is lowered.

Supported upon the front of the platform 1 is a gas or other motor 9,which has a bandwheel 10, connected to a shaft 11, which is supported onbearings 13 near the rear of the platform, the shaft 11 being providedwith a small pulley 14: and a belt 15, forming the connection betweenthe band-wheel 10 and the I'DGELUS.

pulley 14. The shaft 11 has mounted thereon a second pulley 16, which islarger than the pulley 14 and is connected by a belt 17 with a smallerpulley 18 on a counter-shaft 19 near the front of the platform. Thiscounter-shaft 19 has a large pulley 20 mounted thereon, which isconnected by abelt 21 with a fan-shaft 22, located near the rear of theplatform. The fan-shaft has mounted thereon a pair of fans 23, each ofwhich is connected by a conduit 24 with the receptacle 5 and hasconnected to it a horizontal conduit 25, extending laterally from theplatform, so as to extend across any number of rows of cotton, thelatter conduits being supported by frames 25 Extending from. the lateralconduits in pairs are flexible conduits 26, the pairs being spaced apartapproximately the distance between two rows of cotton, but disposedrelative to the wheels, so that they will be located between two rows.The flexible conduits are open at their lower ends and have mountedthereon the cotton-picking device.

In one embodiment of my invention the cotton-picking device comprises apair of rollers, each formed of a pluralityof yielding disks 27, ofrubber or the like, spaced apart by small washers 28 on a shaft 29, thedisks and washers being clamped together by any suitable The shafts 29of each roller are journaled in a casing 30, secured to the flexibleconduit, so that the rubber disks on opposite rollers rotate in contactwith one another. Between the disks is open, so that the suction withinthe flexible tube may act upon the cotton-boll. The rollers are gearedtogether by pinions 31, so as to rotate or move in the direction of thesuction, one of the shafts 29 being provided with a bevel-gear 32 on theoutside of the casing 30. WVith this bevel-gear 32 meshes a bevel-gear33 on the end of a flexible shaft 34, inclosed within a flexible casing35 on the outside of a flexible conduit 26. The flexible shafts 3 1 arerotated from a pair of shafts 36, which extend laterally from thevehicle. The shafts 36 are supported on the frames 25, beneath thelateral conduits 25, and receive rotation from shaft 11 by means ofbelts 37, the pulleys 38 on the shafts 36 being smaller than the pulleys39 on shaft 11 to increase the speed of shafts 36.

The connection between shafts 36 and the flexible shafts 3 f ispreferably formed by a number of large friction-wheels 40, with each ofwhich engage two small friction-wheels41,

on the end of a flexible shaft.

supported on frames 25. These small friction-wheels 41 are each providedwith a bevelgear 42, which meshes with a bevel-gear 43 The bevelgears 32and 33 and connection between the flexible shafts and the lateral shaftsare .inclosed by casings.

In another embodiment of my invention the picking device comprises acasing 44, secured to the flexible shaft and having mounted therein onone side an endless belt 45, which travels in the direction of thesuction on a pair of rollers 46 and has thereon teeth 46, curved so thatwhen traveling in the direction oft-he suction they have their pointsdisposed in the same direction. The forward portionof the belt isdisposed so that it may pick the cotton from the boll. ()ne of therollers 46 has its shaft connected on the outside of the casing 44 withthe flexible shaft 34 by gears 32 and 33, as in the other embodiment.

The operation of my invention is as follows: The vehicle is caused tostraddle a row of cotton, and the lateral conduits 25 then extend acrossa number of rows, depending upon the length of the conduits. Betweeneach row covered by the conduits two farm-hands walk, clearing offopposite sides of adjacent rows. The vehicle is advanced slowly,preferably by horses. Motion is transmitted from the motor 9 tofan-shaft 22 at an increased speed due to the relative sizes of thevarious pulleys in this connection, and the fans 23 being rotated causea blastin conduits 24 and asuction in all of the flexible conduits 26and the lateral conduits 25. At the same time increased speed istransmitted from the motor 9 to the lateral shafts 36, which throughtheir connection with the flexible shafts 34 transmit to said flexibleshafts, and consequently to the pickers, astill further increased speed.

In that embodiment of the picker shown in detail, Figs. 4 to 6, theyielding disks pinch the cotton from the boll, and owing to the speed atwhich the disks are rotated the cotton is thrown with great force intothe flexible conduit. At the same time the suction in the flexible tubewill cause the boll to be drawn to the mouth of the tube, where thecotton is picked by the yielding disks and carried through the variousconduits to the receptacle 5.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 8 the cotton is drawn to the end of theflexible tube by the suction, is caught by the teeth nearest the mouthof the flexible conduit and carried into the conduit, being thenwithdrawn by the suction from the teeth, which are so disposed to permitthis to be easily accomplished.

After the receptacle 5 has been filled the machine is drawn to the placewhere its contents are to be deposited. The bottom 6 being loweredcotton within the receptacle falls out, the bottom acting as a chute.

I am aware that the construction herein described and shown may withinthe scope of the appended claims be changed in various ways withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of thisinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In acotton-picking machine, a flexible conduit, means for creating a suctionin said conduit, a cotton-picker carried by the end of the flexibleconduit and embodying a pair of rollers having parts turning inwardly incontact with one another and spaced apart between said parts, and aflexible shaft for transmitting motion to said cotton-picker.

2. In a cotton-picking machine, the combination with the conduit, of apair of rollers directing the cotton into the conduit and havin g partsturning inwardly in contact with one another and spaced apart betweensaid parts.

3. In a cotton-picking machine, the combination with the conduit, of apair of rollers directing the cotton into the conduit and each having aplurality of yielding disks, each disk turning in contact with a disk onthe other roller.

4. In a cotton-picking machine, the combination with a flexible conduitand a flexible shaft, of a pair of rollers driven by the flexible shaftand carried by the conduit, each roller having yielding parts extendingcompletely around it and turning continuously in contact with like partson the other.

5. In a cotton-picking machine, the combination with a flexible conduitand a flexible shaft, of a pair of rollers driven by the flexible shaftand carried by the conduit, each roller having yielding disks turninginwardly in contact with like yielding disks on the other, and washersor collars spacing the disks apart.

6. The combination with the vehicle, of an open-mesh receptaclesupported in an elevated position thereon and having a discharge-openingat its bottom, a pair of lateral conduits extending from the vehiclenear its rear end, lateral shafts also extending from the vehicle,flexible conduits arranged in pairs spaced from one another andcommunicating with the lateral conduits, flexible shafts arranged inpairs and connected with the lateral shafts, means for driving thelateral shafts, a fan for each lateral conduit causing a suctiontherein, and connections between each fan and the receptacle.

7. In a cotton-picker, a pair of rollers having parts extendingcompletely around them and turning continuously in contact with oneanother and spaced apart between said parts and means for creating asuction on one side of said rollers.

8. In a cotton-picker, a pair of rollers having yielding portionsextending completely around them and turning continuously in contactwith one another and means for creating a suction on one side of saidrollers.

12. In a cotton-picker, a casing, a pair of shafts journaled in saidcasing and geared together, yielding disks mounted on said shafts andturning in contact with one another, and

washers spacing apart the disks on the same shaft.

The foregoing specification signed at Memphis, Tennessee, this 7th dayof April, 1905. 20

WILLIAM B. EDRINGTON. In presence of- W. B. GALBREATH, IV. E. HOLMES.

